Maggie Dixon Classic: Postgame quotes

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma: “There are probably a lot of things you take for granted when you coach a really good team like I do. You take things for granted; every pass is going to be great, every cut is going to be sharp, everything we do is going to be very well orchestrated, but then you watch the first 10 minutes of this afternoon’s game and you just shake your head. No matter how much you think you’ve got things under control, it’s always a work in progress. You’re always trying to get better and make some improvements somewhere, mostly individuals. You do learn, nothing is automatic. As good as Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was Tuesday night against Duke, she struggled a little bit early on today. I think our team learned that we do have someone like Breanna Stewart that can fix a lot of things that aren’t going great.”

Auriemma on UConn’s four New Yorkers: “Other than Stewie, the rest of them were out at Times Square until three in the morning. We picked them up on the way to the game today. (laughter) I think Saniya was meeting with all of her friends until late into the night or something, because she really struggled and I felt bad for her. … I always want — when kids go home, or close to home, anyway — for them to play great because I know they look forward to it. Sometimes it doesn’t work out because they put too much pressure on themselves; they get a little bit antsy, they want to be good, they want to show off for their friends and their family.”

Auriemma on Breanna Stewart: “We’ve never had anybody like her; and we’ve had some of the rest players ever to play college basketball; and we’ve never had anybody like her. Maya Moore was unique, Diana Taurasi was unique, Tina Charles was unique; we’ve had an incredible amount of great, great, great players but I don’t think we’ve ever had anybody that has the God-given things Breanna has. All of the 6-foot-4 kids we’ve had have been great around the basket, or could do a couple of things great; and all of the great perimeter players we’ve had were really good. (Breanna) is just somebody that — because you can’t describe her, what she does — makes it an impossible matchup for everybody; unless you have a really, really athletic 6-foot-4 kid that you can put on her for 40 minutes. You can’t stop her from scoring; because any big kid, she’s too quick, and any guard, she just shoots right over you.”

Auriemma on game film: “We came back from the Duke game, and we watched film; and that’s the great thing about technology today — when we watch film, I can make it look like we won by 50 or I can make it look like we lost by 30; it all depends on what kind of spin I want to put on it.”

UConn sophomore Breanna Stewart: “These are games you really look forward to playing. Duke and Cal are tough teams and especially when you are playing at The Garden; it’s something you don’t do very often. If you can’t get up for this game, that’s a problem. … It didn’t feel that different (playing at MSG), the court is the same. Obviously, we’re playing at Madison Square Garden, but our fans that were here really helped to make the atmosphere just like Gampel (Pavillion).”

Stewart on the future: “After playing Duke and Cal this week, we’re really confident in what we’re doing. There’s still a lot we can focus on n practice and we’re going to do that before we play Cincinnati on Sunday. Everyone is really clicking and finding their roles on this team and that can only help us going into conference play.”

Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb: “I thought this was an incredible crowd. We scheduled this game for a lot of reasons. Maggie Dixon was a friend of mine and to be able to take part in a tournament that honors her is something special. When I took the job at Cal, part of the goal was to put us on the national stage, to try to get one of those few spots in the national elite of women’s basketball and, to me, you have to be in games like this to do that. We have to compete so that people know who we are and know what we’re about. I leave here going into Christmas thinking we have a team that is capable, that plays hard, and that we need to get better. I’m proud to coach this group. I think we’re excited to play in The Garden, thankful for the experience. Now you see firsthand what the best is like. We want to be in games like this in March. I think this will help us take steps in that direction.”

MIKE ZACCHIO has been with The Journal News and Lohud.com since August 2011, where he serves as the beat writer for volleyball, girls basketball, softball and the Rockland Boulders. Upon graduating from North Rockland High School in 2007, he earned his associate's degree in Communications/Media Arts from Rockland Community College in 2009. After RCC, he earned his bachelor's in Journalism from Purchase College in 2011. Let's talk about something important.